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Boston, Massachusetts, 

November 6, 1903. 

To Members: 

The Council takes pleasure in announc¬ 
ing to members that The Bibliophile So¬ 
ciety’s next issue will be the manuscript 
Journal, with all the original maps and 
plans, kept by Major John Andrd while 
serving in the British cause during the 
American Revolution. On the following 
page we print a letter from Messrs. B. F. 
Stevens & Brown, London, addressed to 
Mr. W. K. Bixby, of St. Louis, the pres¬ 
ent owner of the original MS., and to 
whose kind generosity we are indebted for 
the privilege of reproducing this unique 
and valuable item of Americana. 

It will interest the members to know 
that not a page of this Journal, nor any of 
the forty-four original maps and plans, 
have ever been published or reproduced 
in this country or abroad, except for the 
members of The Bibliophile Society. 


1 












London, W. C., ioth January, 1902. 


W. K. Bixby, Esq., 

St. Louis, Mo. 

Dear Sir,—We have the pleasure to offer to 
you an exceptionally fine Military and Historical 
Manuscript, which is now first offered for sale, 
and if you do not accept it, we beg you will treat 
this letter as strictly confidential. 

It is the autograph manuscript Journal of Captain 
John Andre, from June, 1777, to November 23,1778, 
the approximate date of General Grey’s sailing for 
England, with additions — assumed to have been 
subsequently written up by Andre himself in chro¬ 
nological sequence, in his regular and beautiful 
calligraphy, and the numerous plans and maps, 
also made by him, inserted. 

As a voucher for the handwriting of Andre (the 
volume itself not containing his signature), a photo¬ 
graph of the letter in three sheets 4to which he 
addressed to General Washington the day before 
his execution is placed with the Journal. The 
photograph was obtained by Earl Grey from 
America, where the letter is preserved. We ap¬ 
pend herewith a copy of that letter. 

The Journal was recently discovered by Earl 
Grey, on his opening at his house a box that had 

2 







not seen daylight for at least ioo years. It is an 
important MS., and especially interesting to Amer¬ 
icans. We have examined it thoroughly, and en¬ 
close a full collation of it, and some interesting 
matter around the story of Andre and General 
Charles Grey, the ancestor of the present Earl 
Grey. 

The Journal is an oblong 8vo book, 7&X 6 inches, 
in limp boards (the number of pages is set forth 
in the collation), in which have been inserted forty- 
four maps and plans, wonderfully well drawn and 
many coloured, ranging in size from 6% x 334 up to 
4034 x ig&, mostly within ruled borders, folded and 
fitted to the volume, many with textual explana¬ 
tions. 

It opens in June, 1777, the British forces then 
being under General Sir William Howe, and ends 
at the close of 1778, the forces then being under 
General Sir Henry Clinton. Andre was aide-de- 
camp to General Grey. 

It follows the operations and movements of the 
British Army within that period, more particularly 
that part of it in which Major-General Charles 
Grey acted. 

It traces the operations in New Jersey in June, 
1777, to return to New York in July, gives de¬ 
tails of the embarkation and distribution on board 
the fleet for the Chesapeake, the landing at Elk 
River, the daily marches, movements, and posi¬ 
tions ; plans and descriptions of the Battle of 

3 


Brandywine, nth September; action at Trudus- 
frin, 19th and 20th September, and of the Battle of 
Germantown. 

A break occurs in the Journal at 30th December, 
1777, with the troops going into winter quarters at 
Philadelphia. 

It re-opens in June, 1778, with the operations 
under General Sir Henry Clinton, upon the evacu¬ 
ation of Philadelphia, with details of the march 
across the Jerseys, plans and sketches of the posi¬ 
tions of the troops from 21st to 28th June, covering 
the Battle of Monmouth. 

After the arrival at New York the last part of the 
Journal is occupied with the Expedition of General 
Grey to Bedford Harbor and Fair Haven, on the 
Accushonet River, New England, in the beginning 
of September ; that up the North River towards 
the end of September, and General Grey’s success¬ 
ful surprise of Washington’s Dragoons at Tappan 
on the 27th of that month. 

Major-General Grey and Andre were exception¬ 
ally intimate friends, and hence the preservation 
of this MS. amongst Earl Grey’s papers. It was 
probably brought home by Grey to show what he 
had done, and he did not return to America. In 
1782 he was appointed Commander-in-chief in 
America, but the war coming to an end, he never 
took up the command. 

Captain Andre became Aide-de-camp to General 
Sir Henry Clinton, and Clinton’s chief confidant. 

4 


Later he received his Majority and the position of 
Adjutant-General of the British Forces in America. 
His fate in 1780 is well known. 

Always at your service, 

Yours faithfully, 

(Signed) B. F. Stevens & Brown. 

The maps and plans (covering an 
equivalent of 82 pages) are all reproduced 
in facsimile, mostly in the original sizes, 
with colors, and guarded in the volumes at 
their respective places. 

The Journal will be printed on white 
Holland handmade paper with the So¬ 
ciety’s usual watermark. The type selected 
is old style antique, the same as used in 
this announcement; with spacing and 
margins the same as herein. The work 
will be in two royal octavo volumes, bound 
in English boards, covered with polished 
calf vellum, with fleece-lined pull-off covers. 
The Andrd coat of arms will be embossed 
in gold on the front cover of each volume. 
The cost will be $28 for each set. It may 
be stated here that this cost is exclusive of 
the introduction and editorial work by Mr. 
Lodge, for which no charge was made. 
The reproduction of the maps proved an 
5 


enormously expensive undertaking ; many 
of them being printed in three colors. 
These will add much value and interest to 
the publication, as they represent some 
of the early surveys made in America. 

Many urgent requests for copies of the 
Andr£ Journal have been received from 
historical Societies, libraries, and collec¬ 
tors, but all applicants have been informed 
that none will be printed except for mem¬ 
bers ; the only exception being one copy 
for President Roosevelt, to be presented 
by Mr. Lodge. 

The Council has spared neither pains 
nor expense in its endeavors to make the 
present publication one of the most note¬ 
worthy examples in the annals of modern 
bookmaking. The finished work itself 
will serve as the best defence against any 
imputation of extravagant expenditures in 
its make-up. 

The subscription list will close on the 
15th of December, 1903. 

The council. 


6 


The following is a re-print of a part of 
the Collation of front matter in Vol. I:— 

Half title. 

Engraved sub-title, — Society’s bookmark, —with 
Council’s notice of limitation printed on back. 

The Bibliophile Society’s seal, embossed. 

Engraved frontispiece, by W. F. Hopson, portrait 
of Major Andr6, after drawing by himself, 
mounted on Japanese silk tissue. 

Titlepage, remarque proof on sheepskin parch¬ 
ment, in duplicate, on India mounted; de¬ 
signed and engraved by E. D. French. 

General title, with elaborate decorative design, in 
seven colors. 

Prefatory note, pp. ix-xi. 

Letter of Major Andr6, while in prison, to Sir 
Henry Clinton, pp. xi-xii. 

Facsimile autograph letter of Major Andre to 
Washington, the day before the execution. 

Encomiums on Andre, after his execution, by 
Alexander Hamilton, and other American 
officers, pp. xiii-xv. 

Inscriptions on Andre’s tomb in Westminster 
Abbey, and on slab marking place of execu¬ 
tion, p. xvi. 

General Introduction, by Henry Cabot Lodge, 
1-32. 

Facsimile reproduction of first page of the origi¬ 
nal autograph Journal, opening on the nth 
of June, 1777. [Etc., etc.'] 


7 


The following is re-printed from Mr. 
Lodge’s introduction to the Journal : 

“The Journal gives the best version that 
has yet been given of the British side of 
the campaign of the Brandywine and 
Germantown, and of the battle of Mon¬ 
mouth. It is especially interesting in 
regard to the latter engagement, which is 
one of the most discussed and disputed 
episodes of the Revolutionary War. 
Andre’s clear, dry sentences throw much 
light upon all these operations, from the 
English side, and cannot fail to be of 
great value to the military history of that 
year, and also to the local history of 
the region of country in which so much 
of the fighting occurred. The Journal 
confirms in a curious way the charge 
which has always been made by the 
Americans as to the amount of pillaging 
and violence indulged in by the British 
and German troops ; but it is also shown 
that the British commanders made the 
most strenuous efforts and inflicted most 
severe punishments in order to stop these 
8 


outrages, something for which American 
historians have never given them due 
credit. 

“We also obtain here a detailed account 
of the raid into southern Massachusetts, 
which was of no military importance, but 
is of interest as exhibiting the pointlessness 
which characterized so many of the British 
operations. Indeed one of the most inter¬ 
esting features of the Journal, as a whole, 
is the evidence which it affords of the utter 
failure of the British commanders to grasp 
the situation, either from the military or 
political standpoint. We see very plainly 
from the Journal how entirely the British 
failed to realize the futility of their move¬ 
ments, and that even when they were 
successful, their victories led to nothing 
because there was no comprehensive 
scheme of operations in any one’s mind. 
It is clear that they did not in the least 
appreciate that they were making no real 
progress ; that while the surrender of Bur- 
goyne was a deadly blow, the victories of 
the Brandywine and Germantown, and 
9 


the capture of Philadelphia, led to nothing. 
Nowhere is this failure to realize the situa¬ 
tion more apparent than in Andre’s ac¬ 
counts of the retreat of the army from New 
York to Philadelphia. . . . 

“ Altogether, the Journal, from the mili¬ 
tary point of view, is one of the most in¬ 
teresting contemporary documents of the 
Revolutionary War which has come to 
light in recent times, and deserves the 
attention of all students of that period.” 


io 


EXECUTION OF MAJOR ANDRE 

Major Andre was executed at Tappan, 
on the 2d of October, 1780. Dr. Thacher, 
then a surgeon in the Continental Army, 
and present on the occasion, has given 
the following account in his journal: — 

“ Major Andre is no more among the liv¬ 
ing. I have just witnessed his exit. It was 
a tragical scene of the deepest interest. . . . 
The principal guard-officer, who was con¬ 
stantly in the room with the prisoner, re¬ 
lates that when the hour of execution was 
announced to him in the morning, he re¬ 
ceived it without emotion, and, while all 
present were affected with silent gloom, he 
retained a firm countenance, with calmness 
and composure of mind. Observing his 
servant enter his room in tears, he ex¬ 
claimed, ‘ Leave me, until you can show 
yourself more manly.’ His breakfast being 
sent to him from the table of General 


11 


Washington, which had been done every 
day of his confinement, he partook of it as 
usual, and, having shaved and dressed 
himself, he placed his hat on the table, and 
cheerfully said to the guard-officers, ‘ I am 
ready at any moment, gentlemen, to wait 
on you.’ The fatal hour having arrived, a 
large detachment of troops was paraded, 
and an immense concourse of people as¬ 
sembled. 

“ Almost all our general and field officers, 
excepting his Excellency and his staff, were 
present on horseback. Melancholy and 
gloom pervaded all ranks, and the scene 
was awfully affecting. I was so near, dur¬ 
ing the solemn march to the fatal spot, as 
to observe every movement, and to par¬ 
ticipate in every emotion the melancholy 
scene was calculated to produce. Major 
Andre walked from the stone house in 
which he had been confined between two 
of our subaltern officers, arm in arm. The 
eyes of the immense multitude were fixed 
on him, who, rising superior to the fears 
of death, appeared as if conscious of the 


12 


dignified deportment he displayed. He be¬ 
trayed no want of fortitude, but retained a 
complacent smile on bis countenance, and 
politely bowed to several gentlemen whom 
he knew, which was respectfully returned. 
It was his earnest desire to be shot, as being 
the mode of death most conformable to 
the feelings of a military man, and he had 
indulged the hope that his request [see 
facsimile of letter, vol. i. p. xii] would be 
granted. At the moment, therefore, when 
suddenly he came in view of the gallows, 
he involuntarily started backward and 
made a pause. ‘Why this emotion, sir?’ 
said an officer by his side. Instantly re¬ 
covering his composure, he said, ‘ I am 
reconciled to my death, but I detest the 
mode.’ While waiting, and standing near 
the gallows, I observed some degree of 
trepidation — placing his foot on a stone 
and rolling it over, and choking in his 
throat as if attempting to swallow. So soon, 
however, as he perceived that things were 
in readiness, he stepped quickly into the 
wagon, and at this moment he appeared to 
i3 


shrink; but, instantly elevating his head 
with firmness, he said, ‘ It will be but a 
momentary pang; ’ and, taking from his 
pocket two white handkerchiefs, the pro¬ 
vost marshal with one loosely pinioned 
his arms, and with the other the victim, 
after taking off his hat and stock, bandaged 
his own eyes with perfect firmness, which 
melted the hearts and moistened the cheeks 
not only of his servant, but of the throng of 
spectators. The rope being appended to 
the gallows, he slipped the noose over his 
head, and adjusted it to his neck, without 
the assistance of the awkward executioner. 
Colonel Scammel now informed him that 
he had an opportunity to speak, if he de¬ 
sired it. He raised the handkerchief from 
his eyes, and said, ‘ I pray you to bear me 
witness that I meet my fate like a brave 
man.’ The wagon being now removed 
from under him, he was suspended, and 
instantly expired. It proved indeed ‘ but a 
momentary pang.’ He was dressed in his 
royal regimentals and boots. His remains, 
in the same dress, were placed in an ordi- 
*4 


nary coffin, and interred at the foot of the 
gallows; and the spot was consecrated by 
the tears of thousands. 

“ Thus died, in the bloom of life, the ac¬ 
complished Major Andrd, the pride of the 
royal army, and the valued friend of Sir 
Henry Clinton.” 

But when all is spoken, shall we pronounce 
Andre’s an unhappy fate? Has not the great law 
of compensation gilded his name with a lustre 
that in life could never, with all his ardent longing 
for fame, have entered into his most sanguine 
hopes ? If he perished by an ignominious means, 
he perished not ignominiously; if he died the 
death of a felon, it was with the tears, the regrets, 
the admiration of all that was worthy and good in 
the ranks alike of friend and foe. The heartiest 
enemies of his nation joined with its chiefs in 
sounding his praises and lamenting his lot. If 
reputation was his goal, who of his compeers has 
surpassed him in the race ? 

He died in the morning of his life, before suc¬ 
cess had stained with envy the love that all who 
knew him bestowed upon his worth ; ere his 
illusions of youth were dispelled, and while the 
wine was yet bright in his cup and the lees un¬ 
tasted. His dust is laid with that of kings and 
heroes ; and his memory drawing as a jewel from 
its foil fresh brightness from his death. 

Winthrop Sargent. 


15 


LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 






























